Falafel Drive-In

The first time I went to the Falafel Drive-In, I was starving and tired after a trip from the mall. I just wanted food in my stomach, anything--it didn't matter what it was. I was also accompanied by my little sister who (at the time) was a strict vegan, so a quick dash to McDonalds was not okay. Starving and cranky, I saw the neon Falafel sign and just turned in. Without much background knowledge on the place, my little sister and I ordered our meal--she, the falafel pita and I, the chicken gyro. We ate in the car and while I was unimpressed with my chicken gyro (flavorless, too soggy), my little sister was raving about the falafel pita. Whatever, I thought. Mine sucked, so this place sucked.

That was about three years ago--before the popularity of Yelp, before my unemployed days spent watching hours on end of Anthony Bourdain. Of course there is a tie-in with Anthony Bourdain, my favorite travel guide. Much of my wanderlust is evoked while watching his show. It was his Vietnam episode, "There's No Place Like Home," that prompted me to spend three months in Vietnam last summer. These days, I turn to Anthony Bourdain out of an internal necessity to satiate my wanderlust while broke with no big plans to travel abroad anytime soon. Watching his show, I am able to mentally travel to Korea and work alongside old Korean women making kimchi, walk through the confusing labyrinth of Venice streets, and a few weeks ago, eat at one of the best falafel shops in Beirut. It was this specific episode in Beirut that triggered my cravings for falafel, a food that I've never eaten before. Right when the episode ended, I went onto Yelp--the reliable go-to for foodies nowadays--and looked up falafel/Middle Eastern restaurants in the South Bay.

Lo and behold, the Falafel Drive-In was one of the top-rated hits, garnering thousands of positive Yelp reviews. That is serious right there. I scanned through some of the posts and realized the critical error I made during my first visit. I ordered something other than the falafel because apparently, the falafel pita is the only food worth going for. Second critical mistake, I didn't order the banana milkshake. A banana milkshake?? Really? I understand a strawberry-banana milkshake, but banana milkshake? It's not something you usually hear people going crazy about, but according to Yelpers, ordering a combo of a banana milkshake with your falafel pita was absolutely the way to go.

So on a beautiful weekend, emboldened by my trust in Yelp to give it a second try, I drove out to the Falafel Drive-In. When I arrived (around 1ish), there was already a line wrapping the entry of the outside eating/ordering area. Good sign. When ordering, I saw that there was a combo--large falafel with banana smoothie for $7.50, but I instead opted for the small falafel with the smoothie for $7.00. "I don't have the stomach to eat a large falafel," I thought. Uhh...wrong. When my order was ready (which was quick), I was taken aback by how small the small falafel really was. Though packed pretty well, the thing was still the size of a small sandwich.

My surprise by the small size quickly disappeared when I started eating it. Because really, I stopped thinking about anything else other than how freaking amazing this tasted. It was delicious. Worthy-of awards-and-a-visit-by-the-Food-Network kind of delicious. Oh wait, they already won lots of awards and was featured on the Food Network. They're just that amazing.

A few local awards

The star, of course, was the falafel itself. Fried to delicious crispiness on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Words cannot capture how delicious this was. I experienced one of those obnoxious food moments when you moan and nod your head in satisfaction after every bite because it was just so good. Simply put, there's good food and then there's this.

Served along with the falafel are two sauces: tahini (white) and a spicy sauce, which tasted like mix of ketchup and chili. Both perfectly complemented the falafel.

And the banana smoothie? I imagined the milkshake to be chunky and dense, but the lightness in consistency and subtle banana taste really surprised me. I would never have thought to pair a light banana milkshake with a densely packed, spicy falafel. But like many wonderful surprises in life, they work despite their differences.

Made with fresh bananas

After finishing the falafel, I really just had to sit there to absorb the amazingness of what I had just eaten. I love it when I eat something new and my expectations are surpassed. It's like a whole new food world has been opened for me. Yelpers, I am forever in your debt for turning me back on to the Falafel Drive-In. I will be returning for sure, and next time, I'll be ordering a large.

Falafel Drive-In
2301 Stevens Creek Boulevard
San Jose, CA 95128-1651